Rename the Z28?

[garfin]

Originally Posted by GQ4Life

Y was it a handful to drive in the city? Sounds like someone has a heavier foot then me. That's rare

Heh, heh... no power steering (the car was a joy to parallel park!), a really stiff clutch and you almost needed 2 hands to row the shifter on the M22 "Rockcrusher", an engine that wasn't too happy below 3500-4000 rpm - and MAN, was it ever noisy at those revs! It didn't exactly have a plush and comfortable ride either!
Now what have I left out here?

Best regards,

Elie

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by garfin

Heh, heh... no power steering (the car was a joy to parallel park!), a really stiff clutch and you almost needed 2 hands to row the shifter on the M22 "Rockcrusher", an engine that wasn't too happy below 3500-4000 rpm - and MAN, was it ever noisy at those revs! It didn't exactly have a plush and comfortable ride either!
Now what have I left out here?

Best regards,

Elie

Hmmm, let's see, how about a real bear to start in the winter when the oil was the consistency of honey and you were fighting the 11:1 compression (really could have used two batteries). Or vapor lock on those hot summer days in town. Along with the noise at those revs came the 4-6mpg I got in town. Two hands to row the shifter! I went through hell for about a month when I had a ganglian cyst in my right wrist, I was about ready to give away my new '69 Z/28. However, for all the aggravations of using it for a daily driver it had it's benefits at other times. I worked Sun.-Thur. and had Fridays off, so I spent most Friday afternoons adjusting the valves (gotta keep those solid lifters right), adjusting the points and carb, just getting it exactly right for the weekend. And man were those weekends fun!!
Clyde

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Another thing is that the reason for the Boss 302, and the Camaro 302 was that the Trans Am Sedan racing series dictated that the engine size had to be under 305 Cu inches. Both Chev and Ford wanted to have a presence in this type of racing so they went to the parts bin and came up with a strong high reving destroked 302 cubes. Chevrolet went to Zora Arkus Duntov to design the engine and some say that the Z was for Zora.
I have owned 3 302 69 Zs and to say the least they were quite a handfull to drive in the city as an every day driver. They were a lot of fun though, and you never forget the sound that comes from that engine at 7200 rpm shifts.

Let's correct a little misinformation here. Zora Arkus Duntov had absolutely nothing to do with designing the 302 engine for the Z/28 other than the fact it used the Duntov designed 30/30 cam that he designed for the 327 cid 375hp "fuelie" engine in the Corvette years before. In fact, Corvette Chief Engineer Duntov called the Chevy 302 "an artificial engine built to meet an artificial limit", Duntov did not like the 302 at all and was one of it's biggest detractors within Chevrolet. Now that's a pretty far cry from "Chevrolet went to Duntov to design the 302 engine"!!
And the Boss 302 came about later, in '67 Ford was racing the 289 cid engine, After seeing the sucess of the Z/28 302 in '67, Ford had 302 in the '68 season which was almost a total failure. The Boss 302 is what was built for '69 after the failure of Ford's earlier 302. So Chevrolet ran a 302 for a full season (1967) prior to Ford even coming out with a 302 in '68.
Clyde

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

SLP is now using the ZL1 with GM's blessing. This is a new development, and not many people are aware of it. This product, along with all of SLP's packages, is designed as a package to help dealers earn more gross profit on the vehicle while contributing a car to the mix that is worthy of the name.

To me the ZL1 was a legend. It is a shame if Chevy gave that name up. I was part of the South Philadelphia street racing scene back in the day and every time we would see a '69 Camaro lift its wheels we would whisper, must be a ZL1. Of course I doubt we actually saw one, there were very few made.

Camaro Z28s were at the bottom of the muscle car status ladder with the small 302 and later the 350. But they were cool in their own way. Like the GT500 the new Z28 will be more of a drag car than a road race threat.

I know there are many power junkies here and I am not knocking that. For me though I would rather have a lighter car with less power. I think a 10 second car is a handful on the street and there are very few places you can make use of that except at the drag strip. If the Z28 comes in at over 4,000 pounds i will find that very disappointing.

But I look forward to see if it can compete with the GT500. I have my doubts. I think right now the Ford guys have our number with the lighter Mustang, at least stock for stock. But the performance pendulum swings both ways over time. I really enjoy driving my "slow" SS.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by 2010 SSRS

Z28 is the name I want.

i think you fished your wish. I was just dreaming.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by DarthNacho08

z28 has more meaning for camaros than zl1

Maybe for most, but for me I disagree.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by KarFan

This topic has been debated several times here and rumor has it in GM too. The determination was made that the Z28 brand is too important to Camaro to be left from the 5th Gen lineup. We'll soon find out.

As we can see from this thread alone the Z28 brand and heritage is just as important to the buyer as whats under the hood.

There are those who get caught up in the Z28 formula and trueness to the cars 1st Generation heritage. And that a 4000lb supercharged uber expensive Camaro is as far from Z28 heritage as anyone can get. Some think the use of the Z28 name on the majority of the years since 1969 was blasphemy. For as many Camaro fans there are that many opinions... I suppose only GM marketing is the one that counts.

I agree with you, I am not caught up in the name. The Z28 as a name to mean a certain type of Camaro has lost its meaning over the years.

But I wonder. The Boss 302 is getting some big press. If Chevy did decide to compete what would it call this car? IROC would not work I do not think.

But then again GM has so many financial problems it probably cannot afford to compete with Ford on every front. I hope the next Camaro if it happens doesn't wind being trashed by the cost cutters.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by radz28

You win!

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by garfin

Heh, heh... no power steering (the car was a joy to parallel park!), a really stiff clutch and you almost needed 2 hands to row the shifter on the M22 "Rockcrusher", an engine that wasn't too happy below 3500-4000 rpm - and MAN, was it ever noisy at those revs! It didn't exactly have a plush and comfortable ride either!
Now what have I left out here?

If you ask me now is the sweet spot for muscle cars. Best ever. I would much rather be driving the SS rather than a '68 Z/28 or a Chevelle SS454 LS6. But those cars are fun on the weekends to take to car shows.

[oldfriend]

Originally Posted by OldJedi

Sorry, but I really want the car to be named Z28.

IF NO Z28 , THEY CAN KEEP ALL THE ONES THEY WILL BUILD : yikes:

[Camaro_Corvette]

The ZL1 has it's own place in camaro history. I think the Z28 nameplate will be just fine.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Camaro_Corvette

The ZL1 has it's own place in camaro history. I think the Z28 nameplate will be just fine.

Sure Z28 will be fine, But the old ZL1 and the new Z28 are similar cars. Mostly straight-line only.

Of course the new Z will probably be faster.

[garfin]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

...and the new Z28 are similar cars. Mostly straight-line only.

I hope you're prepared to change your opinion on this one...

Best regards,

Elie

[radz28]

Originally Posted by garfin

I hope you're prepared to change your opinion on this one...

Best regards,

Elie

I truly hope you're right I can't wait for people with this opinion, or with the opinion this car doesn't earn the moniker because it's not a stripped racer version of the original, to eat crow when the performance is finally shown to us. Of course they'll still complain, but I know the performance will more than speak for itself.